The smooth victory over Northwestern allowed the Michigan Wolverines to show a handful of targets a good time, including an unexpected visitor. See what a few visitors on hand had to say about their trips.
Michigan hosts coveted in-state target
One visitor who was not announced as attending the Northwestern game until he was spotted on the sidelines on Saturday was Cass Tech 2022 four-star lineman Deone Walker.
Surprise visitor at #Michigan with Detroit (Mich.) Cass Tech Top247 DT Deone Walker in the house for today’s game https://t.co/NxhHlSajpj pic.twitter.com/dNUvYCzcRc
— Brice Marich (@BriceMarich) October 23, 2021
Walker was part of a contingent of Cass Tech players to make the visit to the Big House for the game. He’s been to campus several times already and is known to be a major priority to the staff given his versatility to play on either side of the ball.
What’s interesting is while Walker was attending the Michigan game, 247Sports’ Kentucky writer Josh Edwards logged a Crystal Ball prediction for the Wildcats ($).
Edwards says Walker “expressed that Kentucky is currently his leader” when speaking to him last Friday. This is somewhat surprising given Kentucky’s best recruiter for the state of Michigan now coaches for the Wolverines.
This recruitment will be one to watch as the season unfolds as more uncertainty about Michigan’s standing arises.
Son of one-time Michigan commit enjoys gameday experience
Class of 2023 athlete Jai Eugene Jr. took the trip up from Louisiana to witness the game on Saturday and raved about his experience to The Michigan Insider’s Brice Marich ($).
“My visit was awesome. They have an outstanding atmosphere in Ann Arbor. They have great coaches, players, staff, and a great fan base,” Eugene said.
Despite being listed as a quarterback, from Eugene’s comments, it appears Michigan is recruiting him as a defensive back.
“I’ve had multiple conversations with multiple coaches from Michigan like coach Clink, one of the defensive backs coach and even coach Harbaugh, but coach Bellamy has recruited me for the most part,” Eugene said. “They were telling me they like my play style and how versatile I am on the defensive side of the ball. They also like my size and that I’m capable of playing anywhere in the secondary, but overall I love those coaches.
Eugene is unranked so far, but holds offers from Virginia and Nicholls State. He also has trips planned for Georgia and Texas later this season.
In-state CB remains ‘patient’ about receiving Michigan offer
Another guy Michigan has yet to offer but is keeping a close eye on is 2023 Roseville three-star cornerback Amare Snowden, who spoke with TMI’s Marich about the coaches’ message to him while at the game ($).
“(I talked with) coach Clink and coach Bellamy and they were telling me to be patient. It’s always good to get to talk to them. Feels like family. I think our bond is strong and got to talk to Will Johnson and Deone Walker close to them as well.” he said.
Michigan may soon be an outlier here with Snowden already holding offers from the likes of Penn State, Notre Dame, Nebraska, Pitt, West Virginia, Syracuse and others. But being the hometown school will always give Michigan an extra edge here.
“I’ve been interested,” Snowden said about Michigan. “That’s my dream school just have be patient. Just been my dream school since I was a baby.”